Letter: Rising utility bills and the cost of new energy projects
Hoosiers are opening their utility bills and asking the same question: Why does electricity keep getting more expensive?
We are told that large solar and battery energy storage projects will lower costs, yet rates across Indiana continue to rise. Utility companies are spending billions on new infrastructure—solar fields, massive battery systems, transmission upgrades, and substations, and those costs do not disappear. They are recovered through rate cases and passed directly to customers.
Recent analysis of Indiana utilities shows how severe these increases have become. NIPSCO residential customers were hit hardest, with bills rising about $50 per month, a 26.7% increase in just one year, following a 17.8% hike in 2024. CenterPoint customers saw bills jump roughly $44 per month, a 25% increase. Duke Energy Indiana raised residential bills nearly $26 per month, about 20%. AES Indiana increased bills by nearly $17 per month and is now seeking an additional $21 per month by 2027 in a pending rate case. Even Indiana Michigan Power customers saw increases.
Industry groups often promote these projects as consumer-friendly, but it is important to understand who they represent. The Indiana Energy Association (IEA) is a trade association that represents Indiana’s investor-owned electric utilities and local distribution gas companies. Its role is to advocate for utility interests, not to protect ratepayers from rising bills.
AES Indiana submitted a filing (Cause Number 46113) with the IURC requesting a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) and approval of cost recovery for the Crossvine solar and battery energy storage project. That filing includes language to allow timely cost recovery and ratemaking treatment for the project under Indiana law, meaning the utility intends to recover its investment costs through customer rates.
Projects like the proposed Crossvine solar and battery facility add to this cost pressure. While promoted as clean and affordable, these projects require significant capital investment, grid upgrades, and long-term maintenance. Battery energy storage systems do not generate electricity and must be charged often using coal or natural gas power, adding additional costs without reducing overall demand. Those expenses are ultimately recovered from ratepayers, whether the power is used locally or sent elsewhere on the grid.
Industry groups frequently support these developments, but it is important to understand who they represent. The Indiana Energy Association is a trade association that represents Indiana’s investor-owned electric utilities and local distribution gas companies. Its role is to advocate for utility interests, not to protect customers from rising bills.
Affordable, reliable power should be the priority. Before approving more large-scale solar and battery projects, regulators and elected officials must be honest about the long-term financial impact. Rising utility bills is not an accident, they are the result of policy decisions.
Indiana residents deserve transparency, accountability, and energy solutions that do not keep pushing costs onto working families.
John Kaltenbacher
Dubois County
